Wedding Blog
No, I haven’t yet straightened out the DMV situation. That’s a story for another day, hopefully when it’s actually straightened out (I just love a happy ending, ya know?).
No, this post is about how name changing affects your life in much more insidious and PITA ways: email accounts and blogs. I posted a while back that I reserved a new Gmail account in my new name. Seemed like the right thing to do, since my current personal email account includes my maiden name.
I HAD NO IDEA HOW MANY PLACES THAT PESKY LITTLE EMAIL ACCOUNT WAS USED. Seriously. Bank logins, insurance accounts, benefits websites, online magazines… and blogs. Oh, the blogs.
See, you can’t switch the primary email address on a Google account. Say what? Yes, let me repeat: you cannot change the primary email address on a Google account if that email address is a Gmail address.
Editing Your Account: Username
You can’t change the email address on your account to an existing Gmail address, but we invite you to add a new Gmail address to your Google Account.
If you use Gmail with your Google Account, it’s not currently possible to change your Gmail username after you’ve registered. You can, however, create another Google Account with a different Gmail username.If you don’t use Gmail with your Google Account, you can change your account username to another email address at any time. Your username is the full email address you used to create your account.
So, bummer. And I have yet to figure out how to make all of my blogs and such associate with the new email address. In the meantime, I’m going to get a drink. We’re bringing back cocktail hour in the Cheese household, at least until this whole name-changing situation is under control.
Oh, one more warning: when you change your name at the DMV in most states, they take away your old license. So until you get your name changed at your bank and get a new check card, etc, you might run into problems when you try to use your old card. Ugg. Grab some cash or get a temporary ATM card, okay?
{On the bright side, saying “my husband” a thousand times while doing all of this is kinda nice.}
Has anyone out there done this whole email switch from one Gmail account to another successfully?
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Share this post: Adventures in Name Changing, Parte Dos
What a mess! This is such a bumer about Google - I do EVERYTHING through Google…perhaps if enough angry brides complain they’ll figure out a way to do that…hmmm….Im thinking, after reading all the horror stories of name changing, I might buy that whole miss now mrs thingie.
Ugh. No…..and my personal e-mail is used for freelance work too, so I’m wont to change it at all. So far I’ve just changed the display name so that when I e-mail people it only shows up with my first name. Avoiding…..Ps Happy Hour is a Friday post-work ritual in our house!
I love the cocktail hour thing - sounds fun. Last time I changed my name, it took me about three years to get it changed EVERYWHERE - before google - so now I’m sure it’ll take me a million years to get it cleaned out of everything. I was just thinking this morning about how my current last name is a login to so many accounts.
Are you ever going to post pics of you wedding . . .lol
Oh no! I use google for everything under the sun! Guess when the time comes that I won’t be switching things over in this area. No way am I going through that hassle!
@sweetnenz: LOL. Patience! It’s only been two weeks, so I haven’t received my pro pics yet. Have you ever noticed that there’s a big delay between bloggers getting married and bloggers doing recaps? That’s why!
[...] Mrs. Emerald, I feel like this would be an ENORMOUS hit with the younger crowd who will have hopefully worked up [...]
I also had the same issue with gmail, but I just sent out an email to all of my contacts notifying them of my new gmail address, and then set up my old email account to forward all mail to my new account.
That way, you still get your blog subscriptions, bank emails, etc. Even if your friends email you at your old account, it will still get to you, and when you reply back, you’ll be replying back from your new account.
You can even share your old google calendar, and make it the same color as your new gmail address google calendar.
As for the logins to your bank accounts or other accounts, I still have my maiden name for a handful, but for most things, everything has switched to my new name.
Good luck!!
~Emilie
When I changed my old gmail to a more professional gmail name, I had to add an email account to that one, then all my contacts recieved an email about the change. It’s not the best solution but you could try. Good Luck and keep chantting ‘husband’!!
While Mrs. Cheese did not have a midnight snack she is fab 
Sorrrrryyyy!!!
I kept my passport with my maiden with me at all times until everything was changed over. That way I had all with new name and old name no big deal
I am not looking forward to the gmail name switch. They really ought to add a feature where you can merge google accounts!
Update: brides-to-be and recent marrieds who would like to have that feature should vote for it! Apparently it is already on google’s radar, and they’ve given you the chance to suggest it on their site. If the whole Hive voted, maybe they’d perk up.
I also had my old gmail just forward to my new one. It’s made everything pretty easy, I don’t miss any emails and when I reply back with the new address, everyone just updates!
you can forward one gmail account to another, so you can add a new gmail account with your new married name and just continue to use your current gmail account etc, you’ll still get all your new email and not have to change email accounts for blogs etc or add all your contacts
Settings > Accounts > Get mail from other accounts
Mrs. Cheese, I feel your pain! I’ve been working to get everything switched over to my new gmail account as well.
My tactic:
First, I set up a vacation response on my old account, directing all live people to my new address.
Second, I set up my old account to forward to my new account.
Third, I created an obnoxious bright pink filter and label, so all emails forwarded from my old account would be obvious. That way I could go through and update subscriptions to newsletters and change account information for various services.
Fourth, my ever-tech-talented husband figured out a way to transfer all of my old emails into my new account. It involved POP mail and Outlook, and it’s over my head, but he was able to move all of my old emails (like 4500 of them) into my new account. Labels came over with them and everything. It took quite a while, but I now have all of my old archives.
Also, in terms of missnowmrs.com, I won a gift card from another wedding blog for their services, and I say it’s totally worth it. Spend the extra $10 to get the complete package if you’re going to do it. It takes some time to fill out all of the appropriate information, but it tells what you need to take and where you need to take it to legally change your name, as well as giving you form letters to mail to various contacts (insurance companies, banks, mortgage companies, etc) to update your records. For $30, it saves the hand cramps, if not your sanity! (It’s also a great way to avoid work on your first day back after the honeymoon!)
Thanks for posting about this Cheese! I have decided to put off the name changing until August. We are moving to a new state this summer (your state! time for a TN bee meetup!), buying a house, and I am applying for membership to the TN bar. All of this is way too messy if I suddenly have a new last name. I have been dealing with Google issues though. You can’t get your mail forwarded from one Gmail account to another, so it looks like I will be checking multiple email addresses for a long time to catch any stragglers!
Oops, I meant you can’t IMPORT mail from one Gmail to another.
i have my gmail forwarded to my new one, that’s easy
….otherwise I just check two email addresses!
I currently have 3 gmail accounts & only ever check the main one. You can have other email accounts forward all the email they get to your new one. No biggie!
You should just forward your current gmail account to your new one. It will let you keep everything in one place but not change the address. You can also set up gmail to allow you to write e-mails and the From address can be different than the inbox you are currently working in.
You can transfer all of your google reader subscriptions over to your new account! You can find the directions on google if you search… it only took a minute! Also, you can change your “display name” on your old address to your new name as well, even if you can’t change the actual address.
I’m not looking forward to changing email addresses! I hope one of these suggestions works out for you, Mrs Cheese!
@Mrs. Kitten: where in TN? it’s a biiig state (well, a long one), but a meet-up would be fun.
sigh…..I am so not looking forward to this….perhaps I’ll stick with the original not changing my name approach after all.
@KT: Great idea! I voted for it!
Man, this seems like a lot of work. And I already started the process, so there’s no turning back now. I totally would have lobbied hard for him to change his last name to Smith if not for the fact that he’s the only son of an only son of an only son… and that only son thing could go back farther than that - I’m not real sure.
Good news is that Colorado lets you keep your old license (just punch a hole in it) but I think that’s because if they took it, you’d be without a photo ID while you were waiting for them to mail you your DL. Like someone said earlier, I have my passport in my previous name & my DL will be in new name, so all my bases are covered.
I’ve been trying to switch over to my new Gmail account also and the thing that’s getting me zonked is all the filters and labels I had on my old account. It’s going to take FOREVER!! I’m trying to commit to going in for 15 minutes a day and trying to change things so it’s vaguely manageable (I get about 500 emails a day and if the dreck isn’t filtered from the important stuff I won’t see any of it).
Fortunately I’ve used another email address, involving my nickname and some numbers, as my “anonymous” log on for various websites — and I use Bloglines, so there’s no need to set up my feeds again.
You can change your gmail account on your blog. At least I know you can for blogger. Simply add your new email as someone who can write on and edit your blogs and then (if you wish) you can remove your old email. I had that same problem and this has totally fixed it. It may be a step or two more complicated than that, but it’s easy to google. That’s what I did.
using gmail for both my maiden name and married name addresses - I have all the emails that are sent to my Maiden name address automatically forwarded to my new married name address. I think that was done under “filters”
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Mrs. Cheese, Knoxville
Age and Occupation: 29, Engineering Manager
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, CAD Designer
Engagement Date: July 31, 2008
Wedding Date: May, 2009
Blogging Since: October 16, 2008
Venue: Our home and the two acres it sits on
About Me: I’m an emotional girl who loves sentimental things, parenthetical asides, and trying to do things herself. I can cook, sew, am a whiz at planning, terrible at delegating, and totally in love with my fiancé (who will be my second husband but first love of the rest of my life). For our home/ garden/ DIY wedding, we’ll be moonlighting as interior designers, home improvers, and gardeners with the help of our fabulous friends and neighbors. We can’t wait to be married, and are learning how fun getting married can be.
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